Original subtitles

- Previously on "MasterChef"... - First big team challenge.

Julio and Rachel picked all the duos that have been in the top three.

- You're going down, Blue Team! - Captains, get them organized!

- We've got Courtney and Darce doing slaw. - Slaw is just bland.

- Here we go, guys. - Ryan Kate, I got raw fish. Get it together a little bit.

- Oh, hey! Medic! - What happened?

- You just fainted. You're all right. - It's okay.

We just didn't communicate as well as we could.

- Congratulations, Red Team! - We are beyond proud.

Blue Team, we will see you all back in the MasterChef kitchen,

facing the dreaded pressure test,

where one of you five duos will be eliminated.

- I'm scared. - We know that we have to step it up or we go home.

- Tonight... - It's the return of the dreaded pressure test.

- Black aprons on. - It feels like you're going to your own funeral.

But we're raising the bar even higher.

Those mystery boxes are made out of chocolate.

So it's make or break time to survive.

- One duo will be eliminated. - I'm just glad we're up here.

- Go! - Needs to be absolute perfection.

- Oh, my God. - What's wrong?

- I think I over-whipped it. - Oh, dear.

- I'm gonna remake it. - Looks like it's dropped

straight out of my bulldog's.

- Absolutely soul crushing. - Oh, no.

Yeah, it's called the pressure test for a reason.

What a shame.

- Here we go. - You ready?

The return of the dreaded pressure test.

It's gonna be a tough one tonight.

- Yes, it is. - A very tough one, indeed.

- Let's do this. - Welcome back, guys.

Congratulations, Red Team, on winning last week's challenge.

- Please head up to the balcony. - Oh, my God.

- It feels so great to be in this white apron. - I know.

To be away from this pressure challenge.

We did all the hard work in the last challenge,

so I feel like we deserve to be here.

Just be up in the balcony,

watching hell break loose down there.

- Blue Team, line up. - Pressure's on again.

We are so bummed that we were on the losing team.

Mystery box. Mystery box.

And now we have to go do this pressure test.

- The dreaded pressure test. - The dreaded pressure test.

- I'm nervous. - Welcome back.

Red Team, tremendous victory up there. Well done.

- Thank you, Chef. - Thank you.

Here's the good news. Tonight you are all safe from elimination.

- Yes! - Yes.

Blue Team, unfortunately,

the same cannot be said for you guys.

Captains Timothy and Athena, what happened?

I first want to just apologize to my wife and my partner.

I didn't support her as a captain,

and that ultimately led to the downfall of our team.

There was no cohesiveness.

Not just in the dish, but just the performance of the team.

I think I dropped the ball, personally.

I let feeling a bit unwell throw off my focus,

and I won't let that happen again if I'm lucky enough to stay another day.

I have a question. How many of you actually tasted the complete sandwich?

I mean, how could you expect to win?

The Blue Team losing this team challenge

- was a combined effort of complete chaos. - Mm-hmm.

We had raw fish going out.

We had fries that weren't working.

We had a team captain that wasn't leading.

There was utter chaos in that kitchen.

Right all of you, time to get serious.

Black aprons on, please.

Let's go.

- Black apron. - Dear Mother, Holy Mother.

Wearing the black apron, it feels like you're going

to your own funeral in "MasterChef."

When it's mystery box, it's very difficult because you have a few minutes

and you have to talk very quick and work as much together as we can.

But we're not made to lose. We're made to survive and win.

Now let me refresh all your memories on how this pressure test works tonight.

It's an old "MasterChef" favorite,

at least for us judges, right?

The challenges are harder, the cook time is limited,

and they are always do or die.

There are no winners in a pressure test. It's a fight for survival.

And on top of that, this pressure test is also a mystery box.

All five duos will be cooking tonight

using the ingredients from the mystery box.

And tonight, one duo will be eliminated.

Right, all of you, please head to your stations.

It feels stressful knowing that now we're fighting

for our survival, fighting for our aprons.

But we have to let that go and prepare ourselves mentally

and get ready for this pressure test.

It's time to find out what's under those boxes.

Oh, God.

On the count of three, lift your boxes.

I'm terrified.

One, two, three.

Lift!

What?

What?

- What are we gonna cook with a mallet? - Wow.

Trust me that is not a new kitchen utensil.

It's what you'll need to get to your ingredients tonight.

- What? - I'm sorry. What?

Because those amazing mystery boxes

are made out of chocolate.

Take a smell.

- Sweet. - Shut up.

I love chocolate!

This means we can probably bake.

- Which is what we're hoping for. - We've been wanting to do that.

- Oh, gosh. - We do love to bake.

And this is part of what we want to prove.

We can not only cook, but we can bake.

Right very carefully, on the count of three,

I want you to smash those boxes.

- One, two, three. - Whoo!

- My girl! - Get it, Courtney.

- Get it. - That's the way.

- Ooh. - Oy.

- A lot of anger. - Yes. There you go.

There you go, girl.

Smashing that box relieves a little bit of the stress

prior to this pressure test.

That's the way. That's my ex-husband.

Okay, guys, this first pressure test

is also the first dessert challenge of this competition.

- Ooh. - Yeah, y'all are lucky.

- Yep. - I'm a little worried.

- We're dessert dabblers, but we're not dessert aficionados. - Mm-hmm. No.

- Stupid box. - Stupid box.

Your challenge for tonight is to use that chocolate from the mystery box

along with a really nicely stocked pantry

full of gorgeous berries,

fruits, spices, everything you need

to make an incredible chocolate dessert.

Tonight, we are looking for highly elevated dishes.

Get inventive.

Prepare chocolate desserts that are real head-turners.

We want showstoppers tonight.

You'll have 75 minutes

to make your chocolate dessert for this pressure test.

Right, here we go. Your time starts now.

- Let's go. - Let's go, guys! Let's go!

- Let's go, everybody. - Come on, come on! Hurry!

- Go, go, go, go, go! - Eggs.

- All right. - A pressure test in itself is daunting enough,

but the fact that it's only 75 minutes,

that's really tight timing for baking.

That's not a lot of time.

- Oof. - Let's go!

- All right, got more chocolate and white chocolate. - Yep.

- Lock in. We got it. - Yep. We got this.

In the last challenge, we didn't perform well enough,

so I'm just hoping that we have enough to do what it takes to survive,

because there is no winners in a pressure test.

It's only survival.

- We are okay? Very good, chill, and calm. - Okay, got it. Yes.

Today we are making a chocolate buttermilk cake with a chocolate ganache.

On the side is a raspberry coulis,

and on the top is a gochujang-flavored caramel.

In the last cook, we completely lost our communication,

our organization, and it's time to fight to get ourselves out of this.

This dish means a lot to us. Our story started on cake.

Oh, that's nice.

It's just one of our beautiful memories together.

- We're mom and daughter. - Yes.

But technically we are stepmom, stepdaughter.

- But we do not like to use those terms at all. - Mm-mm.

Cait's mother passed away when she was seven,

just getting ready to turn eight.

And we met when she had her birthday party,

and I offered to do a birthday cake for her.

It was this same chocolate cake.

So this is a very special dish.

Having that motherly woman figure

come back into my life after my mom had passed away,

- it was really special. - Okay, really quick.

Before you start doing anything... stop.

Dear Lord, we're just asking you to be here with us during this cook

and that the judges enjoy our dish.

Amen.

Five minutes gone. 70 minutes to go.

- Let's go! - Looking beautiful.

- Just over an hour. - You got this. You got this.

- 75 minutes is gonna be tough. - Yeah.

This is it. The return of the dreaded pressure test.

It's a fight for survival like no other,

and 75 minutes is not long to conceptualize a stunning chocolate dessert.

Honestly, it's more important than ever that they work as a team tonight.

- Stay organized and we're gonna be fine. - All right.

This is a pressure test, mystery box, and dessert challenge all in one.

- It doesn't get any more difficult than this. - Absolutely.

I think we're gonna need more chocolate ganache.

Oh, yeah. No, we definitely need a lot.

Desserts are hard enough but it's chocolate,

one of the most daunting, difficult ingredients to work with on the planet.

It's chemistry, and you need to be precise

- with every gram of ingredient in there. - Yeah.

One degree over or under, would be a disaster. It is so unforgiving.

Man, it's gonna be a tough one, this one. Very tough, indeed.

- How your strawberries looking? - You tell me.

- Jeez, those look beautiful. - Don't they?

- Oh, my gosh. All right. - Looking good, guys.

- Looking good. - Did you mix the mousse yet?

- I'm mixing it right now. - Okay.

Last challenge, we were the captains.

We had a bit of a bad cook

and we are ready to redeem ourselves

with this pressure test.

So we're making a chocolate lava cake

with mystery box mousse.

This whipped cream is just about ready for you, babe.

Are you still messing with that mousse?

- No, it's right here. - It's just... it's melting down.

What's wrong?

I think I might have over-whipped it.

It's a very technical dessert.

The cake has to be lava, the mousse needs to be smooth,

and if any one of those things don't go right, it's not...

- We could be going home. - Yeah, we could be going home.

- I don't like the mousse. - The texture is not doing it?

I'm trying to get it to spoon, and it's not.

- Um, I'm not gonna lie, babe. - What?

What we might want to restart the mousse.

- Oh, dear. - Oh, brother.

Trusting you, baby.

- You want me to fold it in? - Yep. Here. Thank you, baby.

All right, that cream just needs a little bit more time.

- 50 minutes remaining. Let's go! - Let's go. You got this!

- All right, guys, let's go. - Come on!

Oh, my goodness me, these duos are under immense pressure.

Tonight, we are testing time management, plating skills,

and can they work cohesively across this dessert?

You got to be organized, and you got to move in sync, and you got to be quick.

Both have to come together and be able to knock this out.

- Little bit. Not much. Okay. - The pressure couldn't be higher.

One of these duos is going home tonight.

- So you have to play all your cards to survive. - This is a nightmare.

- Yeah. - Honestly, I'm just glad we're up here.

- I know. - I can do this.

Please take care of this.

Today we're gonna make the...

Which is a roulade with a sponge cake,

and we're gonna do two different ganache.

One with the chocolate we had in the mystery box,

and also a dark chocolate.

- Get ready for your flour and cocoa. - Yes.

Most of the time, dessert is a complicated thing for us,

but this one, we know how to make it.

So I think we can nail this.

Remember, more cocoa than normal...

- Yeah, yeah. - To make it really dark.

45 minutes remaining.

- 45 minutes! - Let's go. You got this!

- You got this! - Come on!

Let's go.

All right, that looks good.

Kayla, Ryan Kate, tell me about this dish.

- So we're making our chocolate cardamom cake. - Cardamom cake.

Yes, with a dark chocolate ganache.

And then we're gonna do

some candied pistachios for some crunch,

a raspberry coulis to cut that richness.

And we're gonna make a mousse with this mystery box chocolate as well.

Now this dessert, it sounds complicated, right?

But you can bounce back tonight

and get yourselves out of this pressure test, yes?

- Yes, Chef. - Okay, don't overcook those sponges, please.

- Yes, Chef. - I think we're cutting it close.

Darce, Courtney, what are we preparing over here?

- We are working on some cannolis right now. - Ooh, I love cannolis.

Yes, so they're gonna have a vegan and a non-vegan component to them.

The inside of the cannoli is going to have a sweet cashew ricotta.

And it's gonna feel like dairy ricotta?

I mean, it's definitely gonna be a little bit different,

but we want it to be smooth and chocolatey and...

So you said there is a dairy component and a non-dairy.

- So vegan and a non-vegan? - Yeah. Correct.

Yeah, the non-vegan aspect is the shell.

We're pretty sure that Joe would be a little bit upset

if we didn't put egg in our shell.

How important is it to be vegan at this moment?

Because, you know, when we think of food,

we don't think of necessarily vegan and non-vegan.

We just think of delicious food.

But, see, we kind of think a little bit of the opposite.

We're kind of like, how can we do it vegan?

But I feel like that's where you found yourself

not doing as great as you could have.

- Okay. Sure. - All right? Think delicious. That's what we want.

- Thank you. - All right. Thank you.

- Good job. - These are going well.

Cait and Tonna seem to kind of have it together.

- Hi, Joe. - Tonna, Cait.

That looks lovely. What is that?

This is our chocolate buttermilk cake.

And what's the recipe?

We are going to put a chocolate ganache

between one layer and a vanilla whipped cream between the other.

And on top will be a gochujang caramel.

- This is like a classic caramel? - Yep, with the gochujang paste.

So it's kind of like spicy and rich and caramely all at the same time.

- Yes. - Very interesting technique. A little bit risky.

- This is intense. - For sure. Yep.

Everything's very rich. Make sure it's balanced.

- You got it. - All right, ladies. Good luck.

- Thank you. - It's out, Darse.

- They look the same, okay? - Coming in for the next one.

- You need this on. - Get that in the saucepan with the sugar.

Timothy and Athena, the dessert. What's going on? What we doing?

- We're making a molten lava cake. - Wow.

How long is it going in the oven for?

- 11 minutes on 450. Yes, sir. - 11 minutes.

Gotcha. How many you gonna put in the oven?

I'm gonna put six in the oven just to make sure

- that we have enough. - Love that.

And you're gonna set the first three in,

wait two minutes, and set the other three in?

- Yes, sir. - Yes.

Love that. How are we gonna elevate this molten lava cake?

- What's the garnish? - So on the side's gonna be

a mousse with the mystery box chocolate,

and then some strawberry roses.

Love that. Make sure you don't go too early with them.

- Yes, sir. - Because in the center it should be like lava.

- Absolutely. - Right?

Too early, they're going to dry out.

It needs to be absolute, utter perfection.

The very best of luck, yes?

- Thank you, Chef. - Thank you, Chef.

- Cait, Tonna, how are you guys doing? - Good. It's looking good.

- It looks good. You guys look organized. - Thank you.

35 minutes remaining.

- Let's go. - Oh, my God.

You think that's smooth enough, right?

Courtney and Darce are doing a cannoli with a cashew ricotta.

It's looking the way it's supposed to. It's fluffing up.

On the other end, you have Darce, who's going to put egg in the cannoli batter.

So there's a little bit of vegan.

There's a little bit of non-vegan.

- How are they coming out? - I think okay.

So the part that's supposed to be ricotta,

which is cow milk, is vegan.

That's the hard part here.

If you can nail the texture,

- it can taste delicious. - That's right.

- All right, Darce, it is in the piping bag. - Okay.

It has to look and taste like a real cannoli.

- Absolutely. - They're playing a high risk game.

- I'm going to pipe one, okay? - Sounds good.

- Nice. - Tonna and Cait are making a multi-level chocolate dessert

with a gochujang caramel.

And I love gochujang because if you go to Korea,

every dessert has the gochujang in it,

which is made with soybean paste.

But it's interesting because it's salty

and it has a bit of umami to it.

- And spice. Yeah. - And spice.

So you get a lot going on with that.

- I hope it has balance. - Mm.

- Flavor's great. - Yeah?

Timothy and Athena, they are doing a chocolate molten lava cake.

As we know, we're gonna cut that open and the lava has to run.

If it doesn't run, it's a chocolate bomb.

- Yeah. - You need a sweat pat?

- I'm okay. - We got this, baby.

Timothy seems a little bit deflated from losing yesterday, being the captain.

He's got to bring back some of that self-confidence today,

especially with a dessert as complicated as this one.

We just have to watch our timing.

- I'm just worried. - Yep.

Kayla and Ryan Kate, they're doing a sort of chocolate layered cake.

It's chocolate sponge, and then inside that,

there's gonna be like a chocolate mousse with a raspberry coulis.

I mean, it sounds tricky, because there's so many

different elements in this cake to get right.

- Just make sure if you need help, let me know, okay? - Okay.

In 75 minutes? They gonna have enough time?

It really depends on when that chocolate sponge comes out.

- It has to cool. - Exactly that.

- This is too thin for the ganache, right? - Yeah.

- I don't know what happened. - Did you add enough chocolate?

- I thought I did. Should we remake it? - It looks like it's separated.

Yeah. I'm gonna remake it.

- Wow. - Oh. Oh, no.

I think now that you have to remake it, I don't know about the timing.

- You just have to get it set, like, right away. - Yep.

Ryan Kate is just struggling.

- Oh, boy. - Are you stressed?

- A little bit. - Don't freak out or anything.

- Thank you. - Take a deep breath. We just have to focus, okay?

Just under 30 minutes remaining. Come on, guys. Let's go!

- Yes! Come on. - Let's go!

- Pick up the pace! - Hurry up.

You think that ganache is gonna be okay?

Just focus on getting that ganache. We need it set.

- You think that's a good texture, Kayla? - Yeah, way better.

Okay. Then I got to go put this in the blast chiller.

- Yeah, there you go. Get it in. - Yep. Get it in.

Can you watch this while I roll another one?

Yeah. How long has it been in?

- Like a minute. I'm doing it based on color. - Okay.

- Going in, babe? - Yep, putting in this one.

And I'm gonna put the other ones over there because they're smaller.

Tim is going into the oven too early.

Because they're doing a molten lava cake.

It's not going to be molten. It's just going to be dry.

It's not going to have that molten effect.

See if you want to add a little bit of sugar.

- No, it's good enough. Mm-hmm. - It's good? Okay.

- Javier. - Yes, Chef.

Azu, tell me about the dish. What we doing?

- We're doing a roulette. No. - A roulette?

You play roulette in a casino. A roulade.

- Roulade. Yes, sir. - Right. Well, where's your cream and your filling?

Filling is here, but the cream is not ready.

- But we... - Right.

And then we put in the freezer.

Then we open again and we fill it up.

Normally when I make these things,

- you roll at the same time. - Yeah.

But we're rolling it, chilling it, and then opening up.

- Yes. Yes, sir. - But when you chill it, it could break.

Yes, I think it... it's gonna be fine.

Okay, I want to see this roll. Let's go.

Piping hot like that, and you roll it like that?

- Yeah. - Then you're going to put that in the fridge,

- and then unroll it? - Yes, to cool it off. Exactly.

- And then we put the cream on. - Focus, yes? Good luck.

- You feeling okay? - Yep.

- Come here. - Do you need those to go in the freezer?

- Um, yeah. - Timothy, when are they going in the oven?

Cakes are in the oven at the moment.

- They're in already? - Yes, sir.

We're 22 minutes to go. Why so early?

I just wanted to make sure that they get cooked correctly and that they can set.

- What's the timing? - We have a 9 and 11 minute timers.

One set on one side and one set on the other.

Did they go in at the same time? Both ovens?

Same times, but some of the cups have different amounts of cake in them.

Oh, boy. Why he cooking so early?

It's okay.

Mmm. Ooh! Delicious.

- So Azu and Javier, I mean... - How's that going?

The roulade looks amazing, but it's a very strange way of what they're doing.

They rolled it super tight when it was hot, so it's compressed it.

And then they're gonna unroll it and put the cream in and roll it again.

A lot of wrapping and unwrapping going on in this roulade.

- I know, yeah. - It makes me nervous.

That thing comes out cracked, she's toast.

If this breaks...

It's not going to break.

Wow.

- It didn't break. - Yeah, yeah.

- Keep working. - Nicely done!

- Nice! - Good job, guys. Good job.

Oh, the cream is going in now.

I hope it's cooled down enough,

because if that center is warm, it ruins the whole mousse.

- Exactly. - Roll it.

- Yeah. It's hot. - Don't worry.

Pull it, pull it, pull it.

- What is happening? - Look at Azu and Javier.

- Be careful. Slow, slow. - Yes.

- What are they doing? - What is happening?

- A bit more, a bit more. - Wait, wait, wait.

Javier's having a Patrick Swayze moment right now.

Exactly. That's what I'm thinking.

Slow, gentle.

- Okay, great. - Keep your cream in there.

I need to get it out of this.

You've got it. Then I'll take the paper off.

- There you go. - It's safe.

Yeah, look, the filling's on there.

Well done. Last 15, guys. Come on, let's go!

- What do you think of the ganache? - It needs more time.

Definitely, we can't pipe it like that.

- That's good. - Slow, slow.

Yeah. That thing is not sticking.

Ah! It's because it's too cold.

- What you think? - Touch 'em.

- It's bouncy. - Timothy's just taking those chocolate lava cakes out.

Uh-oh. It's not coming out.

- 15 minutes to go. - Mm-mm.

See, now's the time they should've gone in the oven.

- All right. - Don't play with them, Timothy.

Still got 15 minutes to go and you're rushing like crazy.

- Slow down. - Baby, just... you know, it should be okay.

Well, I still got to get them out.

I don't want them to cool too long.

The biggest thing about any baking,

confidence and patience, okay?

And right now, Timothy is doing the opposite to that.

Baby.

Our final 10 minutes remaining

of this pressure test.

- Let's go! Come on! - Let's go, babies.

- Push to the end! - We need to get ready to start piping.

- You can pipe over here. - Yep.

Darce and Courtney are still taking cannolis out of the fryer.

Yeah, none of them are filled yet.

Just kind of let that run. Let that run.

Oh, okay.

- How long do you have on the ganache? - Yeah, I'm done.

Okay. Fill the piping bag in it.

- I need to take these off. - Okay, yeah.

Because now they're still overcooking.

Courtney, this is too loose.

The cashew filling is way too thin.

We have to get it in that blast chiller.

I know we only have five minutes to go,

but it needs to get more set.

- Give it two more minutes. - Okay, okay.

It's too soon. It's gonna have to be a two minute pipe and pass.

Very good. And three.

Two. Okay? You're doing a great job.

- Azu and Javier, they do look like they're in sync. - They do.

Yeah, it's the tightest I've seen them work together.

- Beautiful. Beautiful, Tonna. - Nice touch, Tonna.

We are down to our final two minutes.

- Last two minutes. Come on! - Let's go!

Start plating. Let's go.

- That look okay? - Yeah, it looks good.

- Start over here. Raspberry. Raspberry. - I am, I am.

- Okay. We're okay. - If we have time, we...

Here. We have no time.

- Courtney? - Okay. Okay.

60 seconds to go!

Below, below, below.

Don't criss-cross each other. Synchronize!

Stay together as a duo!

Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five, four,

three, two, one.

And stop. Hands in the air. - Whoo!

- Babe! - Let's go, everybody. Great job.

Yeah!

- Oh, gosh. - Beautiful! Wow!

- Did you eat it? How is it? - It's good.

For the first time, I feel I'm about to faint.

I think that we did a very good teamwork, and I think it's gonna work.

I don't know if anybody has ever felt happy after a pressure test.

- But we're really happy with how this turned out. - Yeah.

The last challenge was so rough mentally, physically.

We are hoping that this keeps us safe from elimination.

Right now, we're just worried that because it's vegan, it'll get a little bit of flack.

But this is how we cook together, and we're proud of ourselves.

I'm not feeling good. I don't want to go home.

Very worried about the lava cakes.

I mean, if lava doesn't come out, that could be our detriment.

But we just have to wait and see.

Now, tonight, in the return of the dreaded pressure test,

you faced your first tough dessert challenge.

Now, we're gonna taste all of your dishes.

And, sadly, whichever duo

made the worst dish tonight will be eliminated.

So the first dish we'd like to taste,

please step forward, Kayla and Ryan Kate.

Pressure tests are called pressure tests for a reason.

That was so hard, but I'm feeling pretty good.

I think we plated it pretty well.

I know all of our flavors are on point,

and I'm just hoping they agree.

So tell us, what did you make?

We made a cardamom-spiced chocolate cake

topped with a dark chocolate ganache

with a white chocolate mousse, raspberry coulis,

and a candied pistachio and cookie crumble.

And where is the mystery box in here?

We used the mystery box chocolate in the mousse.

- This looks elegant. - Thank you.

But more than that, I just love the way you two were working together.

And I know last time round, we had an upset with Ryan Kate.

- But it looks like you bounced back. - Thank you.

- Shall we? - Do you want it on top

or should I be more artistic and around?

If you're feeling artsy, go artsy.

All right, I'm gonna go artsy. You ready?

Does that do justice to your artistic expression?

- Beautiful. - I mean, it looks a little murder scene-ish now,

- but it'll taste good. - It needs a little bit of finesse.

- That's what you want done there. - Cute.

I would put that on my Instagram, for sure.

Listen, ladies, it's quite good.

The chocolate cake is moist and your ganache is rich.

It could be a restaurant dish. It's pretty good.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

The cake itself is really, really nice.

But I'm really digging this raspberry.

Delicious. Like, it brightens up the whole plate.

- Thank you. - Ladies, it's delicious.

The chocolate cake is exceptional. The textures are lovely.

I would have coated that white chocolate mousse with the pistachio

because it gets a little bit lost in translation with the crumb underneath.

But it's good. Really good job.

- Thank you. Chef. - Thank you.

Great job.

- It's good. Really good indeed. Yeah, no...

Next, Azu and Javier, please come down.

I think we did a very good job.

- It can be better. - Could be better, of course.

So I hope this plate is enough to keep us safe today.

Okay, Azu and Javier, please tell us what you've prepared for us.

We made a chocolate roulade with dark chocolate ganache

and golden chocolate ganache filling

with a strawberry mint sorbet.

You know, I think this looks really beautiful.

You have the roll, right?

It feels like there'll be some texture.

- I think it's quite stunning. - Thank you.

The dish looks delicious. It's eye-catching.

Javier, I was more concerned about your techniques

when you're standing behind Azu, and you're rolling it with her.

Roll it.

Yeah. Pull it, pull it, pull it.

- What are they doing? - What is happening?

- Okay, great. - I understand. It looks weird.

- In my defense, there were at least two hands of separation. - Please.

Because the paper

was stitched to the cake.

- Stitched. Yes. - And then I tried to...

- Oh, my God. - All right.

- Shall we? - Let's taste.

You know, it's funny, because this is great, and this is great,

but they don't go together at all.

It's like eating two separate desserts, and that's a little bit unfortunate.

Overall, the chocolate with all of the different

components of the chocolate is nice,

and I understand what Joe's saying about it doesn't feel like it's hitting

- as much together is 'cause it's really sweet. - It's too sweet. Yeah.

If it had more tartness and freshness,

then it would just pick up the chocolate,

but I do think that you executed in far as flavor.

Thank you, Chef.

The actual roulade is delicious.

It's light, it's fluffy, it's everything you want from a lovely roulade.

I would have put a touch of salt in with that lovely caramel chocolate,

so we've got a bit of a sort of sweet, salty texture inside.

You've just got the ratios wrong,

because I've got literally an inch of ganache on there,

and so it destroys the actual lightness

and deliciousness of the roulade.

And the sorbet does not work. Such a shame.

- Thank you. - Thank you, Chef.

- Yeah, a fresh custard? A mint custard? - Yeah, yeah.

But this is literally an inch thick.

- That is just all ganache. - It's too much.

- Timothy and Athena, let's go. - Come on, guys.

Come on, guys. You've got this.

- This... - Walking up there today,

there's not that much confidence.

Yeah, I'm very concerned that my lava cakes

are a little overcooked, and that when they cut them open,

that they're not gonna to lava the way that they need to.

And if that's not what they get, it's going to be a huge failure.

Timothy and Athena, describe the dish

and tell me how you used that mystery box chocolate, please.

The dish we made was a chocolate lava cake

with a chocolate mystery box mousse

and strawberry roses with matcha dusting.

Before we start tasting, why cook them so early?

I just wanted to make sure that the outside was set,

and I didn't want to wait too long and them be undercooked.

Visually, you know, it looks inviting.

I'm not a big fan of this, sort of chocolate logs.

It looks like it's dropped straight out of my bulldog's.

But aside from that,

this dish is all about the malting, right?

I'm just hoping when I cut that open,

that lava comes oozing out.

- That's what needs to happen. - Yes.

- Shall we? - All right.

Come on. Just a little bit.

I'm just hoping when I cut that open,

that lava comes oozing out.

- Shall we? - All right.

Nothing. Complete chocolate cake.

Just a little bit too long.

So it's definitely liquid, but it's not oozing.

So let's hope we have a little bit more movement in the next one.

Almost.

- Oof, that one's baked more than mine. - Yep.

The actual molten lava cake tastes good, right?

But your timing is way off.

With 15 minutes to go, I didn't expect to see these out of the oven.

The actual chocolate mousse from the mystery box is a little bit clunky.

Strawberries are nice. Big deal. It's not a strawberry challenge.

I just wish you'd focused as a dynamic duo on your timing.

Yeah, I let the pressure get to me a little bit.

Yeah, it's called the pressure test for a reason.

I will tell you, the chocolate, strawberries, matcha,

all those flavors go together really, really nicely.

But these are the differences of mistakes

that can be sending you home.

It's really a shame, because all the components are delicious.

But you promised us molten lava, and you just didn't deliver.

- Thank you. - What a shame.

- Yeah. - Texture's way off. Way, way off.

Solid inside.

All right, Tonna, Cait, come on up.

I'm getting really nervous.

This cake means the world to us.

So if we get bad feedback on this dish,

it is going to be absolutely soul crushing.

Tell us what you made.

We made a layered chocolate buttermilk cake

with chocolate ganache, a vanilla whip, raspberry coulis,

and it was topped with a caramel gochujang sauce.

This cake is super special to us

because this is kind of where our story starts.

My eighth birthday was a little bit after my mom passed away,

and my dad needed some help.

And he asked Tonna to help out.

We decorated cakes for my eighth birthday,

and this was the exact recipe that the cake was.

Ladies, it looks special. It is a showstopper.

It looks beautifully stacked, and the layers are even.

I just hope it tastes as good as it looks.

- Yeah. - Yes. Thank you.

It really looks like I could sell it.

Put it on the menu. 15 bucks. See what they think.

Shall we?

- Wow, look at that. - I know.

That's nice.

There is this smallest hint of spice

from the gochujang which is really, really nice.

I really like the raspberry itself.

It's very tart, it's very refreshing,

and it helps to break up all of the chocolate that you have.

Honestly, this is pretty god darn good.

- Thank you. - I'd be happy to have this as a birthday cake.

Ladies, this is the dessert of the day for me.

This is terrific, and I would happily sell this for 15 bucks.

In fact, I'm going to raise the price. $17.

- All right! - I'll take it.

- Ladies, it's a work of art. - Thank you.

What you've got here is not just the ratios, but the textures.

I don't know if it needs the cream on the outside.

The one on top is fine, but you've got the layers beautifully done.

- Really good job. Amazing. - Thank you. Thank you.

- It's very good. Very good, indeed. - Oh, wow.

Next up, please, Darce and Courtney,

- make your way forward. - Thank you.

I'm scared, because this isn't a vegan competition.

It's a food competition.

And one of the dangers with this vegan filling is that

it could be a little bit grainy and not smooth.

Okay.

We don't want to give them a reason to eliminate us.

Courtney, Darce, explain what you've made.

We made a traditional cannoli shell

filled with a sweet chocolate vegan cashew ricotta filling

and whiskey raspberry coulis.

We used the chocolate in the mystery box

to dip our cannoli shell and put some pistachios on it.

So just to be clear, we've got a vegan filling

and a traditional cannoli shell.

Yeah. I think there's this all or nothing aspect

that people have with vegan food,

and it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

I totally get it. But at the end of the day,

I think there is a standard

what a cannoli is supposed to look like.

Normally, they have, like,

crater lava texture on them.

This I can tell is over-fried and way too dense.

It looks like an over-fried egg roll.

When you're gonna present a cannoli,

I think there is a standard

what a cannoli is supposed to look like.

This I can tell is over-fried and way too dense.

- It looks like an over-fried egg roll. - Mm.

Shall we?

For me, the weird taste is the filling.

It's sort of rough.

The sauce, it's acidic,

it's very, very strong,

and it sort of confuses the palate.

I think it's not just the texture of the cashew,

but I'm getting cashew flavor.

- Okay. - On its own, maybe it could be accepted,

but I think because there's chocolate, because there's pistachio,

there is so much competing flavors going on.

I like the aspects of the orange here that you candied.

When you get a nice little bite of that, it's a really nice flavor.

I just think there's some more working out of this dish that you need to do.

The filling actually tastes okay.

It's a little bit grainy, as they said.

But at the end of the day, there is a right way

and a wrong way of doing a cannoli,

- and this misses that mark by a long shot. - Okay.

- Thank you, ladies. - Thank you.

It's okay.

They took two completely different approaches

to making something that should be classic.

Very strange.

Okay. Wow, what a night.

Right now, Joe, Tiffany, and myself,

we've got a very tough decision to make. Please excuse us.

In the meantime, all of you, make your way down to the front please.

- Okay. Tough one, this one. - Yeah.

- I really want a cannoli now. - Don't eat ours.

So tonight, they had to make a dessert using the chocolate from their mystery boxes.

It's the first dish that really kind of showed their synergy.

- Mm-hmm. Yup. - That was just delicious.

Um, disappointing. Honestly, it was just badly executed.

- Yeah. - They missed the mark.

- We in agreement? Yeah? - Yeah.

It's called a pressure test for a reason.

But tonight, Tiffany, Joe, and myself

feel that there were two dynamic duos

that really did stand out for all the right reasons.

And those duos were

Tonna and Cait and Kayla and Ryan Kate.

- Well done. - Yay!

- Yes! - Good job.

Really well done. And there's another duo we felt

was certainly not the worst, certainly not the best,

but the potential was great.

Congratulations, Azu and Javier.

All three are safe from elimination.

Head up onto the balcony. Let's go. Congratulations.

My gosh!

We are safe, and I'm feeling super, super happy.

We showed that we can face pressure

and put out a really, really good dish

and not just survive, but thrive.

Kayla and I showed that we can blow the competition away

with a pressure test, but hopefully we never have to do it again.

Darce and Courtney, Timothy and Athena,

sadly, your chocolate desserts tonight both had flaws.

Darce and Courtney, you know, you started off with the right intentions,

but we all felt that that sauce and the filling was somewhat off

and didn't compliment the actual traditional cannoli shell.

Timothy and Athena, the fact that you stuck those molten lava cakes in

with 20 minutes to go when it's only a 10-minute cook,

you shot yourselves in the foot.

We've made our decision.

The duo who will be leaving MasterChef tonight,

sadly is...

- Darce and Courtney. - Yep.

Oh, my gosh.

Timothy and Athena, say goodbye to Darce and Courtney

and make your way upstairs, please.

Good job. Good job.

Darce and Courtney, our talented animal nurses.

Listen, we fell in love with that incredible bond.

But tonight, you were working as individuals

as opposed to one dynamic duo.

But I know there's a dream for the vegan cafe,

and there's something quite unique about the way

you both bounce off each other.

- Please keep cooking. - Thank you.

You guys, give it up for these two phenomenal women, please.

Please place your aprons on the back of the bench.

Safe journey home. God bless.

Cooking vegan food for Gordon Ramsay

is something I have seen in my head 1,000 times.

So getting to stand up there and cook vegan food,

which is, like, overwhelming...

I cry when I'm happy, when I'm mad, when I'm sad.

I cry over everything, right? So these are happy tears.

I'm very grateful to just have had

the experience that we had.

We do feel like we're lucky

to have gotten this far.

- We made it top 10. - Mwah!

- "MasterChef" dreams are over. - Yeah.

I guess we got to go back to work.

Yeah, shoot. Put us on the schedule.

Next time, the top nine duos face

a brand-new "MasterChef" challenge.

One of you is gonna leave the MasterChef kitchen,

and the other will start a dish.

Then at the 30-minute mark, duos will trade places,

and the second cook will complete the dish.

He's gonna see this and know exactly what to do with it.

You've really got to set your partner up for success.

I honestly have no idea what I'm gonna walk out to.

All right, time for the big swap. Are you ready?

- What the heck? - Ryan Kate really left Kayla a mess.

He doesn't know my vision. Don't put it on the fish!

I'm doing the best I can with what I got here.

- Wow, look. - The sauce!

I'm feeling dizzy.

Medic!